GuySagi

Sure no argument on VHF beating the pants off UHF in most outdoor cases, or the poor performance of cheap radios. I can beat you on 1 watt VHF distance, though. 155.16 mhz, on a cliff at night (elevation maybe 7,000 feet), I had no problem sending vitals to the helicopter PJ as he and the pilot waited for authorization to take off (they were at about 2,800 feet). Distance 30 miles, Motorola brick in my hand and I have no clue what the Air Force had in that old UH1 Huey at the time, but it was obviously amazing. Straight line of sight, unimpeded, but crystal clear enough I that I breathed a sigh of relief when I could hear the blades whir to life. I was young and dumb enough to take that kind of performance for granted, sigh. 

Wow. Did this thread get colorful fast. I spent ten years with search and rescue, carrying a one-watt Motorola VHF brick so I think my assumption the SAR folks in Wyoming will come at this pretty practically is a good one. Send hasty teams with HTs to high peaks, usually predesignated as communications points discovered/used during practices in the area (it's a practice to mark those spots on the map whenever you find a really good one). They stay put, lighting fires as a "trap team" to attract the lost person or p/u a signal of any sort (not just radio). Somewhere relatively close is a mobile unit with higher powered radio and solid communications back to town (our porcupine on four wheels was Rescue 3). If a team on a peak picks up a signal, it radios the truck, it's relayed back to town if a helivac is needed and all is good. If a team on the move finds something they can radio a nearby peak that's manned. And there are lots of people caring enough to volunteer who cannot handle the cliffs/long hikes, but jump at the chance to babysit those peaks and trucks during operations. In fact, our in-town radio guy was handicapped, and his calm, soothing and never-flustered voice on the radio probably saved more lives than us grunts in the field ever did. I apologize for the long response. I think Wyoming's approach could be better, but a solid foundation to build on....sucks adding even a few ounces to a searcher's backpack, though. 

Sure no argument on VHF beating the pants off UHF in most outdoor cases, or the poor performance of cheap radios. I can beat you on 1 watt VHF distance, though. 155.16 mhz, on a cliff at night (elevation maybe 7,000 feet), I had no problem sending vitals to the helicopter PJ as he and the pilot waited for authorization to take off (they were at about 2,800 feet). Distance 30 miles, Motorola brick in my hand and I have no clue what the Air Force had in that old UH1 Huey at the time, but it was obviously amazing. Straight line of sight, unimpeded, but crystal clear enough I that I breathed a sigh of relief when I could hear the blades whir to life. I was young and dumb enough to take that kind of performance for granted, sigh. 

You're right....sorry. Nothing like me mixing brand names when trying to explain the capacity in some batteries is so exaggerated that it's ridiculous. They run awesome in my HTs, although as noted above watch that voltage or you can sacrifice performance. 

Man, I just looked at your sequence of letters...you win in the painful category. 

I think it's worth a try. Keep us posted. I know the letter sequence in my call sign is clunky.

It's nice to learn about decent folks today. My recent service and retail encounters have been literal nightmares....so thank you for posting something to raise my spirits. My next purchase will be through Buy Two Way Radios, just because it's the only way to propagate decent behavior. 

It's nice to learn about decent folks today. My recent service and retail encounters have been literal nightmares....so thank you for posting something to raise my spirits. My next purchase will be through Buy Two Way Radios, just because it's the only way to propagate decent behavior. 

I'll issue a pre-emptive welcome to GMRS. It's a great community, especially here. Hopefully you'll get your license soon. I have a 27-foot Forest River Wildwood and always use my handheld GMRS units for several reasons when camping, but not for the reasons you stated (or at least I haven't done so yet). My wife lets me know I'm screwing up when backing into a site with the radio. A few feet makes a huge difference as you know and by the time I hear her shouting or she dials a phone a tree could be in the trailer living room. I also take a lot of photos in some remote regions after nightfall and before dawn. A two-way is the ideal solution if an emergency arises, assuming I haven't ventured too far. When we caravan with the son-in-law radio beats even bluetoothed phones in the trucks because it's faster if you need to alert the person behind or in front of you. There's something of an official GMRS channel for roadside emergencies, I think Ch. 20, but I'm confident someone here will clarify or confirm. I also contact owners of repeaters near where we are camping to secure permission to use their repeater in an emergency. As you know, cell phone service stinks at some campsites, but if someone has a repeater on a mountain nearby you can punch a signal out to summon help. That's critical in my case because my daughter is a quadriplegic and the first trip with our trailer the state park locked the gate at 8 p.m. and there was no cell service. We were instructed to drive to the check in station in an emergency and use an outside landline to call 911 in an emergency....when sometimes it's not prudent to abandon the victim, even temporarily. 
 
I think your idea is great, though and I'd sure be game to help start a trend (although I have my doubts with Smartphone addiction today). The traffic/weather report idea, though, is sort of like truckers with CBs. There's some propagation differences that shorten most transmissions, but there's also none of the trash talking on GMRS...well, exponentially less anyway. 
 
So have you posed your question on any RV/trailer groups? If not I'll post it on the Forest River groups I belong to. Not sure if the admins will delete it, but I'm sure interested.

It's nice to learn about decent folks today. My recent service and retail encounters have been literal nightmares....so thank you for posting something to raise my spirits. My next purchase will be through Buy Two Way Radios, just because it's the only way to propagate decent behavior. 

Plus, hams down on the longer wavelength bands (lower frequencies) routinely talk across the globe without Internet intervention.

I just have to say awesome, awesome comments and thread to all of you. Very informative, sharing info I didn't think of and so friendly, Once again I had to double check I was really reading an Internet forum.  And unless I'm mistaken (which I've been many times before and likely a lot in the future) Jeep Jamboree was ditching CB for GMRS in 2020, not 2021. 
 
Boy I wish every place on the web breathed life and pleasure into a subject, like what's happening here, instead of choking it to death with hostility. 
 
And Guest_Bryan you can get your GMRS license without owning a radio, to answer your question. 

I'll issue a pre-emptive welcome to GMRS. It's a great community, especially here. Hopefully you'll get your license soon. I have a 27-foot Forest River Wildwood and always use my handheld GMRS units for several reasons when camping, but not for the reasons you stated (or at least I haven't done so yet). My wife lets me know I'm screwing up when backing into a site with the radio. A few feet makes a huge difference as you know and by the time I hear her shouting or she dials a phone a tree could be in the trailer living room. I also take a lot of photos in some remote regions after nightfall and before dawn. A two-way is the ideal solution if an emergency arises, assuming I haven't ventured too far. When we caravan with the son-in-law radio beats even bluetoothed phones in the trucks because it's faster if you need to alert the person behind or in front of you. There's something of an official GMRS channel for roadside emergencies, I think Ch. 20, but I'm confident someone here will clarify or confirm. I also contact owners of repeaters near where we are camping to secure permission to use their repeater in an emergency. As you know, cell phone service stinks at some campsites, but if someone has a repeater on a mountain nearby you can punch a signal out to summon help. That's critical in my case because my daughter is a quadriplegic and the first trip with our trailer the state park locked the gate at 8 p.m. and there was no cell service. We were instructed to drive to the check in station in an emergency and use an outside landline to call 911 in an emergency....when sometimes it's not prudent to abandon the victim, even temporarily. 
 
I think your idea is great, though and I'd sure be game to help start a trend (although I have my doubts with Smartphone addiction today). The traffic/weather report idea, though, is sort of like truckers with CBs. There's some propagation differences that shorten most transmissions, but there's also none of the trash talking on GMRS...well, exponentially less anyway. 
 
So have you posed your question on any RV/trailer groups? If not I'll post it on the Forest River groups I belong to. Not sure if the admins will delete it, but I'm sure interested.

I posted this article before on this forum (apologies), but it does a nice job answering your question with a system up and running in California.
Disaster: Radio to the rescue (mtdemocrat.com)

MacJack, I'd love to see photos or learn more about your setup when you get it into your RV. I'm still scratching my head on an elegant solution for my travel trailer that doesn't require a tone of fresh holes in the metalwork. 
 
And GuestPete_M,, welcome to GMRS. It's a great solution for my family and current needs as well, and it looks like you've done some serious homework. I don't have the experience others do on this forum, so I'll avoid unnecessarily clouding your decision by withholding my amateur comments. 
 
I will, however, try to tickle a few the experts here into replying by mentioning the Midlands are narrowband on frequencies where wide is allowed. I have a pair of Midland's narrowband handhelds and have not experienced the often-cited degradation in audio when the grandkids use them to reach me on the BTech 50X1 I purchased here. However (and it's a big one), we haven't really stretched my rudimentary system's limits. When you start adding hills, trout streams and deer stands in a thick forest to the equation that extra width may make things more intelligible, or not. Hopefully some folks with more experience will chime in, but I did want to welcome you to the community, regardless. 

Thank you for the alert. Doesn't impact me that I know of, but certainly a nice reminder for us all to be careful. 

Thanks for the information and now it makes sense. I apologize for a asking, but sure to appreciate you taking the time to explain. 

I have good luck with my Ed Fong antenna and he's really polite when answering questions from new folks--I know, i've asked some of the dumbest ones he's probably heard. I use his pvc encased version. Part of the money he collects goes to the graduate students tuning the antenna for you and they use the cash to help pursue their educational goals....beats the heck out of it disappearing offshore to a big corporation. And berkinet's right, the frequency GMRS is at doesn't lend itself to skipping great distances like the lower ham frequencies and CB when conditions are right. Take a look at the repeater section here, though, and the odds are good you can bounce your signal through a repeater, even through others if they are mutually connected for enviable clarity at awesome distance. I sure hope that doesn't negatively affect your decision to go and stay on the air, though, and wish you best of luck. Please let us (or at least me) know how it's working. 

Man, I wish you the best of luck and if someone hasn't said it recently, thank you for allowing use of your repeater (even if it's down now, or inaccessible, thanks are due for your generosity, regardless). There are none within range of my home....dang it. But I do know there are many out there you've probably never heard from who appreciate yours being on the air. My daughter's a quadriplegic who still loves to camp, and one of her favorite sites has no cell service. We haven't been back since I've gotten my gmrs license, but there's a nice tall repeater nearby, and it disturbs me to think jerks like this will compromise my (and everyone else's) ability to punch out an emergency message efficiently.  

Well, I'm pretty new to GMRS, but perhaps my limited experience can help. Before you invest, I'd suggest you conduct something of a test. Bear in mind I just talked through my first GMRS repeater Friday night (awesome as heck to punch a solid signal a good distance across state lines, by the way), so everyone else's advice here should carry more weight than mine. 
 
Is your house (where you mentioned putting the repeater) on a hill or high enough in elevation to see most of your property? GMRS is almost exclusively line of sight. If you can see all of your property from where you're putting the repeater antenna it's a great, low-cost solution (in theory). So it becomes a question of whether you can get the repeater antenna high enough to "see." Even then will likely experience blind spots on the house-side of deep valleys or behind ridges. If there's a big hill behind your home/repeater location, odds are very good you won't hear anyone directly behind it, regardless of power. 
 
Trees compromise the signal, but not as much as I expected in my flatland full of crazy-high pine forests. I doubt very much they'll be a huge problem in the distances you described, but I'll defer to the more experienced folks here on that topic. 
 
Try an experiment with the FRS radios you mentioned, but bear in mind those blister-pack radios are terrible. Have one person stay at your house with one of the units on, roughly where you think a repeater antenna would be best, and take a second radio to different areas on your ranch. Try to make solid contact as you drive/hike around. FRS and GMRS frequencies are close, so it'll provide a baseline from which to decide. 
 
A high repeater antenna will improve things exponentially on GMRS. The person holding your "base" radio on the front porch, at mouth level.....well, it doesn't reflect what they'd receive if they were perched on the roof, obviously. Plus, you can use more power on GMRS.
 
Just a thought, and I think CB's problematic for a working ranch. The noise is fatiguing for most people—generated by the atmosphere periodically pushing distant signals in, jerks joyriding their microphones as they drive by and other interference. You can squelch most of it away, but doing so can clip important calls.
 
MURS is nice and I use it, but good luck finding certified radios to survive the rigors of your line of work. And without repeater capability (which I think are banned on MURS), it probably isn't the solution. After a decade of search & rescue work I'm accustomed to standing on boulders and truck tailgates to punch a signal thru on frequencies close to MURS, but my family can't stand the gymnastics sometimes required for relatively low-powered VHF (very high frequency) handheld work at distance.   

With apologies to Hemingway on the title of this post, but I just wanted to say how awesome this forum and folks who frequent it are.
 
I visit every day (when business doesn't drag me out) because people share solid info, are always pleasant and even when I'm off the mark I'm corrected in a friendly, fatherly/motherly manner that doesn't make me feel like I'm lucky I snuck out of grade school. It's a breath of fresh air in today's toxic environment.
 
And hat tip to the moderators/host/owners/people surrendering their time and cash to keep things running right. It's a rare site when you're confident you can sit down and read something with your grandkids without stumbling across inappropriate language. 

With apologies to Hemingway on the title of this post, but I just wanted to say how awesome this forum and folks who frequent it are.
 
I visit every day (when business doesn't drag me out) because people share solid info, are always pleasant and even when I'm off the mark I'm corrected in a friendly, fatherly/motherly manner that doesn't make me feel like I'm lucky I snuck out of grade school. It's a breath of fresh air in today's toxic environment.
 
And hat tip to the moderators/host/owners/people surrendering their time and cash to keep things running right. It's a rare site when you're confident you can sit down and read something with your grandkids without stumbling across inappropriate language. 

With apologies to Hemingway on the title of this post, but I just wanted to say how awesome this forum and folks who frequent it are.
 
I visit every day (when business doesn't drag me out) because people share solid info, are always pleasant and even when I'm off the mark I'm corrected in a friendly, fatherly/motherly manner that doesn't make me feel like I'm lucky I snuck out of grade school. It's a breath of fresh air in today's toxic environment.
 
And hat tip to the moderators/host/owners/people surrendering their time and cash to keep things running right. It's a rare site when you're confident you can sit down and read something with your grandkids without stumbling across inappropriate language. 

With apologies to Hemingway on the title of this post, but I just wanted to say how awesome this forum and folks who frequent it are.
 
I visit every day (when business doesn't drag me out) because people share solid info, are always pleasant and even when I'm off the mark I'm corrected in a friendly, fatherly/motherly manner that doesn't make me feel like I'm lucky I snuck out of grade school. It's a breath of fresh air in today's toxic environment.
 
And hat tip to the moderators/host/owners/people surrendering their time and cash to keep things running right. It's a rare site when you're confident you can sit down and read something with your grandkids without stumbling across inappropriate language. 

With apologies to Hemingway on the title of this post, but I just wanted to say how awesome this forum and folks who frequent it are.
 
I visit every day (when business doesn't drag me out) because people share solid info, are always pleasant and even when I'm off the mark I'm corrected in a friendly, fatherly/motherly manner that doesn't make me feel like I'm lucky I snuck out of grade school. It's a breath of fresh air in today's toxic environment.
 
And hat tip to the moderators/host/owners/people surrendering their time and cash to keep things running right. It's a rare site when you're confident you can sit down and read something with your grandkids without stumbling across inappropriate language.